Mallojula Koteswara Rao, alias Kishanji, a politburo member of the CPI (Maoist), is leading the operations in Lalgarh in West Bengal, where the security forces are locked in a fierce battle with tribals led by Maoists.According to sources, Rao - who has many aliases including Pradip, Bimal, Prahlad, Murali, Ramji and Sreedha - is in charge of West Bengal, Orissa and Jharkhand in the politburo.

An activist of the CPI-ML (People’s War) before the formation of the CPI(Maoist), Rao used to live in Kolkata. Police records show that he used to visit places like Lalgarh, Salboni, Palubani and Belpahari regularly to organise meetings of the Maoists.

Hailing from Peddapalli area in Karim Nagar district in Andhra Pradesh, Rao is fluent in English, Bengali, Hindi and Santhali.

Sources said that in Lalgarh the Maoists are putting into practice their favourite theory of converting every mass movement into violent agitations against the state. Though their ultimate aim is to capture power at the Centre through armed revolution, Maoists do participate in local-level agitations.

They love to sneak into mass agitations, take control of the situation and change the course of an agitation. This plan was successfully carried out in places like Nandigram and Kalinga Nagar in Orissa.

The tone of the agitation changes after Maoist intervention.

The Maoists thwart any attempt for an amicable settlement, as their sole aim is to embarrass the government in every possible way. In Maoist terminology, these interventions are called ‘partial struggles’, which are an integral part of the People’s War.

According to records with the police, there are a number of committees of the CPI(Maoist) which control the activities of Maoists in West Bengal. There is a West Bengal state committee of which Somen, alias Himadri Sen Roy, was the secretary.

The material collected by intelligence agencies suggest that the developments in Lalgarh are not sporadic. The Maoists have been waiting for years for an opportunity to strike at the government. Squads of the People’s Liberation Guerilla Army (PLGA) of the Maoists have been active in the area for years.

Intelligence agencies collected details of PLGA members who are active in the Lalgarh area. Kiran alias Sasadhar Mahato, Suchithra Mahato, Manasa alias Rajen, Karan Hembram, Sanjoy Mandi and Sukhdev Mahato are some of the PLGA squad members who spearheaded Maoist activities in Lalgarh.